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Knowing this book would be brought to life by a local publisher who understood our vision was very important to me. The book opened up a space for these young poets to express how they felt...” - Sylvie MiddletonWESTPORT, CONNECTICUT, USA, September 4, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- Voices of Our Children, a poetry anthology featuring the work of local students from Bridgeport, Norwalk, Westport, and Wilton
schools enrolled in the HEAL Community Service Program run by Homes with Hope, has just been published by Christmas Lake Press. The book is the brainchild of HEAL Program Director jennifer lyn amon and the creator of the program's poetry workshop, Sylvie Middleton.
Organized in sections corresponding to the different forms of poetry introduced, such as Haiku, odes, colors, and Renga, the book showcases young poets ranging from kindergarteners to high school seniors, as well as HEAL volunteers, and is meant to inspire others who have yet to experience the power of writing.
The back of the book includes blank lined pages where readers-from children to adults-are encouraged to express themselves by writing their own poems.
Says amon,“Lynn Abramson, the Director of Homes with Hope's ASAP program, and I met with Sylvie one summer day, and we discussed our programs and opportunities for her involvement. When she spoke of being a poet, I brought up the 'Voices of Our Children' idea that we'd conceived a few months prior. All eyes lit up. Sylvie asked what the parameters were, and hence put together the eight-session poetry workshop that evolved into the book.”
jennifer lyn amon is a passionate program director/developer with twenty years of experience in the human services field providing group and mentoring support to underserved youth and individuals throughout Fairfield County. She is also a creator of programming and curriculums for non-profit and community service organizations using strength-based approaches and methodologies that create a sense of belonging and build self-confidence, and an organizer of community-based events providing volunteer opportunities connecting individuals to a greater good.
Sylvie Middleton is a Miami native, poet, and life coach living in the New York City Metropolitan Area. She is the author of a collection of poems,“The Year That Was, Immersed in Poetry.” What started as a personal outlet in her youth transitioned into a poetic journey of transformation that inspired the creation of a program that provides others with the opportunity to follow her path to healing, (PoeticTransformationTM). In the summer of 2022 while working as a volunteer with Homes with Hope, Sylvie created a poetry workshop for the Youth Services HEAL Program. The success of this course led to the creation of this poetry book. Sylvie continues to write, believing in the power of words and their magic to empower, enlighten, and enrich the human spirit.
To bring the book from idea to print, Middleton reached out last year to Westport resident Thomas Fiffer, Publisher of Christmas Lake Press, after learning about him through other Westporters who had worked with him previously.
“When I received Sylvie's inquiry through my website,” says Fiffer,“I immediately knew this was a special project close to home and that I wanted to honor her request to work pro bono to make the book happen.”
Says Middleton,“Knowing this book would be brought to life by a local publisher who understood our vision was very important to me. The book opened up a space for these young poets to express how they felt about giving, their favorite foods, colors, nature through Japanese 'haikus' and 'where they're from,' to name a few. It was an honor and a privilege to work with them and to witness how poetry inspired them.”
Thomas G. Fiffer is co-founder, with Julia Bobkoff, and Publisher of Christmas Lake Press, a small, independent publishing company focusing on fiction and memoir. Recent and upcoming titles include Driven: Investigating Nine Decades of Stop-at-Nothing Ambition by John Martel, and You Were Still Dancing: An Unforgettable Journey Through Alzheimer's by Marianne Benz. Voices of our Children is the eighteenth book released by Christmas Lake Press since it was founded in 2021.
To request a review copy, please contact Thomas G. Fiffer at ....
For inquiries regarding the creation of the book, please contact Sylvie Middleton at ....
For more information about Voices of Our Children, the HEAL program, and Homes with Hope, visit or contact jen amon at ....
Thomas Fiffer
Christmas Lake Press
+1 203-246-1989
email us here
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